Combination sleeping bag sack and pad sleeve

ABSTRACT

A sack for storing a sleeping bag when the sleeping bag is not in use, and for attaching the sleeping bag to a pad, such as an air mattress, when the bag is in use. Provided herein is a combination having a sack comprising a body having a first part of a mating fastener thereon, a sleeping bag having a second part of the mating fastener thereon, the sleeping bag having a volume that fits within the sack, and a mattress having a width that fits within the sack.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. provisional application 62/359,829, filed Jul. 8, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Camping is currently enjoying a surge in popularity as the population, in general, is spending more time outdoors connecting with nature. There are many different ways in which people like to camp. Some campers carry their equipment to remote places and desire light and easily packed equipment, while at the other end of the spectrum, other campers ‘camp’ in established tents that have beds, electricity and many conveniences of a hotel (e.g., “glamping”). Between these two types of campers are those who camp alongside or close to their vehicles; these campers desire comfort without extravagance. No matter what type of camper, they have high desires for comfort and convenience while camping, and a large demand exists for products that can provide high levels of both.

Sleeping is one activity that is hard to perform well without a minimal comfort level. The surface upon which a camper sleeps can be very important in determining the level of comfort and the resulting quality of sleep. To isolate the sleeper from the hardness and irregularities of the ground, it has become the practice of many campers to use a mattress (e.g., air mattress, foam pad) between the sleeper's sleeping bag and the ground.

There may be certain problems associated with using a sleeping bag with a separate pad. As a sleeping person turns in his sleep, the bag, which may be made of nylon or some other somewhat slippery material, may tend to slide off of the pad (especially an inflatable air mattress or foam sleeping mat) and no camper likes to wake up in his sleeping bag to find himself rolled off of his pad. Most campers can rarely find a perfectly flat spot to put their tents, so they often slide off of their pads.

SUMMARY

What is needed is a manner by which to secure the sleeping bag to the pad, inhibiting the sleeping bag from sliding off the pad. This disclosure provides a sack that can be used both as a storage sack for a sleeping bag (when the sleeping bag is not in use) and as a sleeve to connect a pad to the sleeping bag (when the sleeping bag is in use). The sack provides a connection between the sleeping bag and the pad, which remain connected via the sleeve until unconnected (e.g., unclipped) by the user.

In one particular implementation, this disclosure provides a sleeping bag storage sack that has a body with at least one pair of fastener elements thereon, the body configured to receive at least a portion of a pad therein, and the fasteners configured to engage with a sleeping bag.

In another particular implementation, this disclosure provides a sack configured to store a sleeping bag therein and to receive at least a portion of a pad therein. The sack may fit on the pad as a sleeve.

In yet another particular implementation, this disclosure provides a combination of a sack and a sleeping bag. The sack has a body with a first fastener element thereon, and the sleeping bag has a second fastener element thereon, with the first fastener element and the second fastener element being engageable. Another provided combination has the sack, the sleeping bag, and a pad having a width that fits within the sack.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. These and various other features and advantages will be apparent from a reading of the following Detailed Description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWING

The disclosure may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments of the disclosure in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sleeping bag stored within a sack;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the sleeping bag stored within the sack;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sack fitted on an air mattress as a sleeve; and

FIG. 4 is side plan view of the sack, fitted on the mattress as a sleeve, attaching the mattress to a sleeping bag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein is a sack that can be used for storing a sleeping bag (when the sleeping bag is not in use, but is being stored, transported, etc.) and for attaching the sleeping bag to a pad, such as a foam pad or an air mattress, when the sleeping bag is in use. The sack is used as a sleeve that fits over the pad and attaches the pad to the sleeping bag.

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawing that forms a part hereof and in which are shown by way of illustration at least one specific embodiment. In the drawing, like reference numerals are used throughout several figures to refer to similar components. In some instances, a reference numeral may have an associated sub-label consisting of a lower-case letter to denote one of multiple similar components. When reference is made to a reference numeral without specification of a sub-label, the reference is intended to refer to all such multiple similar components.

Referring to FIG. 1 and to FIG. 2, a sack 10 is shown having a sleeping bag compressed therein (the sleeping bag not readily seen in these figures). The sack 10 has a flexible body 12 formed from a material such as nylon with an open top end 14 and an opposite bottom end 16, and a left side 15 and a right 17. The top end 14 is adjustable to form an access 20 into the interior of the sack 10; the access 20 is controllable (increased or opened and decreased or closed) by a draw string 22, which in this design is lockable. Also in this design, the top end 14 can open to be as wide as the bottom end 16.

Any of the bottom end 16, the left side 15 and the right side 17 may have a seam, or, seam(s) may be present at other locations of the sack 10.

Present on the body 12 of the sack 10 are fastener elements 30, in the particular implementation, a first pair of fastener elements 30A, a second pair of fastener elements 30B, and a third pair of fastener elements 30C spaced between the top end 14 and the bottom end 16. One of each of the pair of fastener elements 30 is present at or proximate to the left side 15 and to the right side 17 of the sack 10. In the illustrated implementation, the fastener elements 30 are located inward from the actual sides 15, 17 of the sack 10, not at the leftmost edge or side nor at the rightmost edge or side portion of the sack 10; rather the fastener elements 30 are placed inward toward a centerline (not shown) of the sack 10 from the edges 15, 17. In this design, the fastener elements 30 are located at a seam in the sack 10.

The sack 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, retains, stores, and otherwise holds a sleeping bag or other bedding (e.g., blanket) when the bag or bedding is not being used. The sleeping bag or bedding may be rolled, folded, or merely stuffed into the sack 10, via the access 20 at the top end 14.

The sack 10 is also configured to be a sleeve for a pad, such as an air mattress. In FIG. 3, an air mattress 100 is illustrated with the sack 10 pulled onto and over the mattress 100, at the end of the mattress 100 where the sleeper's head will eventually be. Although the mattress 100 has been shown as an inflatable air mattress, other pads, mattresses and mattress-type structures could be used, such as foam pads, wool pads, blankets, etc. The access 20 at the top end 14 of the sack 10 is expanded so that a portion of the mattress 100 fits inside the sack 10; the mattress 100 has a width that fits within the sack 10 between the sides 15, 17. In this particular design, the mattress 100 fits snugly into the sack 10. As seen in FIG. 3, the sack 10 is pulled over the mattress 100 so that the bottom end 16 of the sack 10 is at or close to the end of the mattress 100 (at the top of the figure) and the sack 10 extends down and covers a portion of the mattress 100. The entire length of the mattress 100 is not covered by the sack 10.

As seen in FIG. 3, the fastener elements 30 are present on the sack 10 towards the sides 15, 17, but not at the outermost edges of the sack 10 at those sides 15, 17 but rather laterally spaced in from the outermost edges. In alternate implementations, the fastener elements 30 could be positioned at the outermost edges of the sack 10 or at other transverse locations on the sack 10. Additionally or alternately, the fastener elements 30 could be positioned at other lateral locations on the sack 10. In the illustrated implementation, three pairs of fastener elements 30 are located closer to the top end 14 of the sack 10 than the bottom end 16; it is understood that the fastener elements 30 can be located at any location along the longitudinal length (from the top end 14 to the bottom end 16) of the sack 10 or the lateral width of the sack 10 (from the left side 15 to the right side 17).

The fastener elements 30 are used to removably attach the sleeved mattress 100 to a sleeping bag 200. In FIG. 4, the fastener elements 30 on the sleeved mattress 100 engage with fastener elements 230 (only one of which is called out in FIG. 4) present on the sleeping bag 200. In most implementations, the number and placement of the fastener elements 230 on the sleeping bag 200 align with the fastener elements 30 on the sack 10, although in some implementations extra fastener elements may be present on one or both the sack 10 and the sleeping bag 200, for example, to allow for placement adjustment of the mattress 100 in relation to the sleeping bag 200.

The fastener elements (e.g., fastener elements 30, fastener elements 230) are releasably mating or otherwise two-part releasable connecting fasteners, so that the fastener elements 30 engage with and disengage with the fastener elements 230. The fastener elements 30, 230 may be alternately referred to as clips, snaps, clasps, connectors, etc. Specific examples of engaging fastener elements include, but are not limited to, male-female fasteners, a clip and D-ring or other ring, hook and loop fasteners (e.g., Velcro™), self-engaging fasteners (e.g., 3M Dual Lock™), quick-release, etc. Although three pairs of fastener elements have been shown (specifically, fastener elements pairs 30A, 30B, 30C on the sack 10), more or less fastener elements 30, 230 or pairs of fastener elements 30, 230 may be used. As an example, one large centrally located patch of hook and loop fastener (e.g., Velcro™) may be used instead of multiple fastener elements 20, 230 at the sides. The fastener elements (e.g., fastener elements 30, fastener elements 230) should remain connected until unconnected by the user.

In such a manner, the sack 10 does double-duty, not only as storage for the sleeping bag 200 when the bag 200 is not in use, but also providing an engagement or connection between the sleeping bag 200 and the mattress 100. Additionally, by using the sack 10 to secure the mattress 100 to the sleeping bag 200, the sack 10 does not need to be packed away or stored when the sack 10 is not being used to store the sleeping bag 200.

In some implementations, the sack 10 may not include a draw string 22, but rather, the fastener elements, such as fastener elements 30C at the top end 14, can be used to control the access 20.

In use, for example, when one goes camping, after arriving at the desired location, the camper unloads the gear, including a sleeping bag and a pad. The sleeping bag will be packed (e.g., rolled, stuffed) into a sack having mating fastener elements present on the outside surface of the bag (e.g., the sleeping bag 200 will be packed into the sack 10). The sleeping bag has corresponding mating fastener elements present on the outside surface of the sleeping bag (although possibly not discernible when the sleeping bag is packed in the sack). The pad may be any suitable pad, such as a foam pad, wool pad, blanket, but typically will be an inflatable air mattress.

After preparing (e.g., inflating) the pad (e.g., pad or mattress 100) and removing the sleeping bag (e.g., sleeping bag 200) from the sack (e.g., sack 10), the sack is slid over the end of the pad where the sleeper's head will be. The sleeping bag, removed from the sack, is spread out and arranged on or proximate the pad, with the sleeping bag top (head) at the sack covering the pad. The fastening elements present on the sleeping bag are aligned, mated and engaged with the fastening element on the pad, thus attaching the sleeping bag to the covered pad. The fastening elements on the sack and sleeping bag remain engaged until unconnected (e.g., unclipped) by the user.

The above specification, together with the figures, provides a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments of the invention. The above description provides specific embodiments. It is to be understood that other embodiments are contemplated and may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure. The above detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense. While the present disclosure is not so limited, an appreciation of various aspects of the disclosure will be gained through a discussion of the examples provided.

As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” encompass embodiments having plural referents, unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the term “or” is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

Spatially related terms, including but not limited to, “lower”, “upper”, “beneath”, “below”, “bottom”, “above”, “on top”, “top”, etc., if used herein, are utilized for ease of description to describe spatial relationships of an element(s) to another. Such spatially related terms encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the particular orientations depicted in the figures and described herein. For example, if a structure depicted in the figures is turned over or flipped over, portions previously described as below or beneath other elements would then be above or over those other elements.

Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended. Furthermore, structural features of the different embodiments may be combined in yet another embodiment without departing from the recited claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A sleeping bag storage sack comprising a flexible body defining an interior for receiving a sleeping bag therein, the body having at least one pair of fastener elements on an exterior surface of the sack.
 2. The sleeping bag storage sack of claim 1 having at least two pairs of fastener elements thereon longitudinally spaced from each other.
 3. The sleeping bag storage sack of claim 1 having at least three pairs of fastener elements thereon longitudinally spaced from each other.
 4. In combination, the sack of claim 1 having a first portion of the fastener elements, and a sleeping bag having a second portion of the fastener elements engageable with the first portion of the fastener elements on the sack.
 5. The combination of claim 4, wherein the first portion of the fastener elements and the second portion of the fastener elements are male-female engageable.
 6. The combination of claim 4, wherein the first portion of the fastener elements and the second portion of the fastener elements are quick-release engageable.
 7. In combination, the sack of claim 1 having a first portion of the fastener elements, a sleeping bag having a second portion of the fastener elements engageable with the first portion of the fastener elements on the sack, and a pad.
 8. The combination of claim 7, wherein the pad is an inflatable air mattress.
 9. A combination comprising: a sleeping bag storage sack comprising a flexible body defining an interior for receiving a sleeping bag therein, the body having at least one pair of fastener elements thereon; and a sleeping bag having at least one pair of fastener elements thereon configured to releasably engage with the fastener elements on the storage sack.
 10. The combination of claim 9, wherein the storage sack has at least two pairs of fastener elements thereon longitudinally spaced from each other and the sleeping bag has at least two pairs of fastener elements thereon longitudinally spaced from each other.
 11. The combination of claim 9, wherein the storage sack has at least three pairs of fastener elements thereon longitudinally spaced from each other and the sleeping bag has at least three pairs of fastener elements thereon longitudinally spaced from each other.
 12. A combination comprising: a sleeping bag storage sack comprising a flexible body defining an interior for receiving a sleeping bag therein, the body having at least one pair of fastener elements thereon; a sleeping bag having at least one pair of fastener elements thereon configured to releasably engage with the fastener elements on the storage sack; and a pad.
 13. The combination of claim 12, wherein the pad is an inflatable air mattress. 